Memory

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What is coding?
The way information is changed so that it can be stored in memory.
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What is capacity?
This is a measure of how much can be held in memory.
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What is duration?
A measure of how long a memory lasts before it is no longer available.
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STM: coding
Remembering images (visually); remembering sounds and words (acoustically); remembering the meanings of things (semantically).
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Baddeley (1966) discovered that...
Coding in STM is mainly acoustic.
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STM: capacity
It is limited to between 5 and 9 items, however, we can use chunking to increase the capacity.
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Miller (1956) found that ...
'The magical number 7, +/- 2' was the title. He suggested that the average span for letters and numbers was 7, but that this could be increased by chunking.
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STM: duration
A maximum of 30 seconds, but it can be extended by repetition or rehearsal.
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Peterson & Peterson (1959) found that...
They found that STM declined rapidly without the benefit of rehearsal.
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LTM: coding
Remembering places, faces (visually); remembering songs, voices (acoustically); the main way information is remembered in LTM is through its meaning (semantically).
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Frost (1972) found that...
He found that parallel access of visual and semantic memory codes occurred. When reocgnition is expected, a visual cue provides faster access; when expecting recall, verbal access is more efficient. This demonstrates that separate coding occurs.
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LTM: capacity
Thought to be unlimited, depending on individual differences. However, decay, interference and illness may result in the loss of information.
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Ramscar (2014) found that...
The research suggests at human brains slow down because they are filling with information. An elderly person has to sift through much more knowledge to find a name or date, which appears to make them slow.
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LTM: duration
No upper limit.
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Bahrick (1975) found that...
Memory for faces is very good, but that recognition is easier than recall. Most of the time we use recognition, which could explain why straight recall of facts in exams is more challenging.
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What is the multi-store model?
An explanation of memory based on three separate memory stores, and how information is transferred between these stores.
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MSM 1: sensory register
Is the place where information is held at each of the senses.
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MSM 2: attention
If a person's attention is focused on one of the sensory stores, then the data is transferred to STM. Attention is the first step in remembering something.
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MSM 3: short-term memory
Information is held in STM for immediate tasks.
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MSM 4: maintenance rehearsal
Repetition keeps information in STM, but eventually such repetition will create a long-term memory.
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MSM 5: long-term memory
LTM is potentially unlimited in duration and capacity.
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MSM 6: retrieval
The process of getting information from LTM involves the information passing back through STM. It is then available for use.
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Evaluation of MSM: case study
The case study of HM, who lost his hippocampus in an operation leaving him unable to learn new things in LTM while retaining the ability to remember short strings of digits in STM, indicates there are two separate stores.
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Evaluation of MSM: scanning techniques research
More recent research using scanning techniques is showing that the idea of just three storse is too simple. There are LTMs for episodic, procedural and semantic memory and scans show that these are distinctiely different.
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Evaluation of MSM: LTM involves more than maintenance rehearsal
Research suggested that enduring memories are created by the processing that you do, rather than through maintenance rehearsal; things that are processed more deeply are more memorable just because of the way they are processed.
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What is the working memory model?
An explanation of the memory used when working on a task. Each store is qualitatively different.
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What is the role of the central executive?
Monitors and coordinates all other mental functions in working memory. It has a limited capacity.
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What is the role of the phonological loop?
Codes speech sounds in working memory, typically involving maintenance rehearsal.
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What is the role of the visuo-spatial sketchpad?
Codes visual information in terms of separate objects as well as the arrangement of these objects in one's visual field.
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What is the role of the episodic buffer?
Codes visual information in terms of separate objects as well as the arrangement of these objects in one's visual field.
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Evaluation of WMM: dual task performance
Baddeley and Hitch, found that both the central executive and the articulatory loop were involved and this demonstrates the dual task performance effect and also shows that the central executive is one of the components of working memory.
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Evaluation of WMM: the central executive
there is some concern about the central executive; about what it is.The answer appears to be that it allocates resources and is essentially the same as 'attention'. Some psycholgists feel this is too vague and doesn't really explain anything.
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Evaluation of WMM: evidence from brain-damaged patients
The process of brain injury is traumatic, which may in itself change behaviour so that a person performs worse on certain tasks. Some individuals may have other difficulties, like difficulties paying attention and therefore, underperform tasks.
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What is episodic memory?
Personal memories of events, such as what you did yesterday or a teacher you liked. This kind of memory includes contextual details plus emotional tone.
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What is procedural memories?
Memory for how to do things, for example, riding a bike or learning how to read. Such memories are automatic as the result of repeated practice.
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What is semantic memories?
Shared memories for facts and knowledge. These memories may be concrete, such as knowing that ice is made of water, or abstract, such as mathematical knowledge.
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Evaluation of types of LTM: evidence
There is now strong evidence for different memory types with the availability of scanning technology. This has increased the reputation of psychology as a science.
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Evaluation of types of LTM: distinguishing episodic and semantic memories
Researchers have studied patients with Alzheimer's disease and found some patients who retain the ability to form new episodic memories, but not semantic memories. This is a single dissociation; a separation between the two.
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What is interference?
An explanation for forgetting in terms of one memory disrupting the ability to recall another. This most likely to occur when the two memories have some similarity.
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What is proactive interference?
Past learning interferes with current attempts to learn something.
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What is retroactive interference?
Current attempts to learn something interfere with past learning.
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Supporting evidence for interference: McGeoch & McDonald (1931) - procedure
6 groups had to learn 10 adjectives perfectly. They then had to learn a new list that had a similar meaning, opposite meaning or there were various controls, such as nonsense syllables or a rest with no learning.
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Supporting evidence for interference: McGeoch & McDonald (1931) - results
Performance depended on which second list they experienced and whether it interferred with the learning of the adjectives. Those in the rest condition did best because there was no interference and those in the synonym condition performed poorly.
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Supporting evidence for interference: McGeoch & McDonald (1931) - conclusion
The similarity of the synonyms created greater interference, causing more forgetting.
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Evaluation of interference: reliable
Lots of laboratory studies high control and standardised procedures mean they are reliable findings.
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Evaluation of interference: real life applications
The findings are easily applied to real life and are useful in improving retention in memory by avoiding learning similar items at the same time.
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Evaluation of interference: lack validity
The tasks can be criticised for lacking in validity or mundane realism. For example, learning nonsense syllables is never done normally.
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What is retrieval failure?
Occurs due to the absence of cues. An explanation for forgetting based on the idea that the issue relates to being able to retrieve a memory that is there, but not accessible.
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The encoding specificity principle states that...
A cue doesn't have to be exactly right, but the closer the cue is to the oginal iem, the more useful it will be.
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What is a cue?
Things that serve a reminder.
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Evaluation of retrieval failure: laboratory research
Much laboratory research, which lacks mundane realism. Real-life memories are likely to have multiple cues when coding and recall.
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Evaluation of retrieval failure: the danger of circularity
Nairne (2002) has criticised. He claims that the relationship between encoding cues and later retrieval is a correlation rather than a cause; cues do no cause retrieval, they are just associated with retrieval.
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Evaluation of retrieval failure: real-world application
Smith (1979) showed that just thinking of the room where you did the original learning was as effective as actually being in the same room at the time of retrieval.
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What is eyewitness testimony?
The evidence provided in court by a person who witnessed a crime, with a view to identifying the perpetrator of the crime.
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What is misleading information?
Supplying information that may lead a witness' memory for a crime to be altered.
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What is a leading question?
A question that suggests to the witness what answer is desired or leads them to the desired answer.
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What is a post-event discussion?
A conversation between co-witnesses or an interviewer and an eyewitness after a crime has taken place which may contaminate a witness' memory for the event.
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Supporting evidence - Loftus & Palmer (1974) - procedure:
150 participants were shown a video of a car accident. They were asked about the speed. They were told to return 1 week later when they were asked a series of questions (10). "Did you see any broken glass?" - there wasn't any.
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Supporting evidence - Loftus & Palmer (1974) - findings:
People who had the word 'smashed'or 'hit', said 41 mph.
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Supporting evidence - Loftus & Palmer (1974) - conclusion
They show the impact of leading questions and that people have schemas.
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Evaluation of misleading information: useful
This research is very useful when applied to the criminal justice system and it has led to improvements in procedures.
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Evaluation of misleading information: artificial research
Early research was very artificial and laboratory-based. For example, Loftus car crash work used police crash videos lasting a few seconds and had limited samples so was lacking validity and generalisability.
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What is anxiety?
An unpleasant emotional state that is often accompanied by increased heart rate and rapid breathing.
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Supporting evidence - Johnson & Scott (1976) - procedure:
Participants sat in a waiting room where they heard an argument in an adjoining room and then saw a man run through the room carrying either a pen covered in grease or a knife covered in blood. They had to identify the man from photos.
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Supporting evidence - Johnson & Scott (1976) - findings
The mean accuracy was 49% in identifying the man in the pen condition, compared with 33% accuracy in the knife condition.
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Evaluation of anxiety: real-life
This research has added to our understanding of what happens to real-life witnesses and has increased the crediblity in court even if they were scared at the time.
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Evaluation of anxiety: ethics
Asking someone to re-live a crime they saw can be distressing for the witness.
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Evaluation of anxiety: extraneous variables
Real-life studies lack the controls of laboratory experiments. Extraneous variables may interfere with the results, For example, witnesses could have discussed what they saw and altered their memory of the events.
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What is a cognitive interview?
A police technique for interviewing witnesses to a crime, which encourages them to recreate the original context of the crime in order to increase the accessibility of stored information.
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Cognitive interview step 1: mental reinstatement of original context
Interviewee mentally recreates both the physical and psychological environment of the original incident.
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Cognitive interview step 2: report everything
Interviewee is encouraged to report every detail of the event.
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Cognitive interview step 3: change order
The interviewer may try alternative ways through the timeline of the incident.
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Cognitive interview step 4: change perspective
Interviewee recalls the incident from multiple incidents.
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Evaluation of the cognitive interview: real-life
It has helped with the training of police officers and is used often.
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Evaluation of the cognitive interview: individual differences
It may only work for some individuals; not everyone.
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

This is a measure of how much can be held in memory.

Back

What is capacity?

Card 3

Front

A measure of how long a memory lasts before it is no longer available.

Back

Preview of the back of card 3

Card 4

Front

Remembering images (visually); remembering sounds and words (acoustically); remembering the meanings of things (semantically).

Back

Preview of the back of card 4

Card 5

Front

Coding in STM is mainly acoustic.

Back

Preview of the back of card 5
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